Secrets
by TwistedEnvisage
Summary: When a friend pushes a topic too far.


**A/N: I was really in an InoShika mood. So I decided to write a one-shot.**

**It might be a bit cliché in a few places, but I try to avoid it as much as possible. It's hard! Lol. Gotta love those cute moments. XD Hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the characters, etc. I am making no money/profit from this. I'm sure a lot of you have heard the quote/saying: "Secrets, Secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone!", I do not own that saying either. Blah, Blah, Blah.**

**Secrets**

There were many things in life that Shikamaru Nara considered troublesome. One of the most troublesome things to the genius; women. He couldn't quite understand their logic, the way they thought about any given situation, or the way their emotions controlled so many of their actions.

But if there was one thing he understood about women, it was that a lot, if not most of them, wanted positive attention from a man. He knew it was normal. He also knew it was normal for males to want positive attention from women, but so many women made the attention they wanted from males blatantly obvious. At least of the women he had meant. One of those women being a former member of his team and one of his best friends.

He didn't understand why she went on her extensive or strange diets, why she showed so much of her skin to every man that passed her way (though he didn't complain when she were to pass him in her shinobi outfit), why she cared so much what the men thought of her. (She should know that most of them found her gorgeous.) When he looked at his two best friends, he thought it strange that when it came to those topics they were the total opposites. Though none of the three of them were the same in any manner. They each shared things they could bond over though. Even if it was difficult to tell what they bonded over with Ino.

Shikamaru sighed, deep in thought as he lay on his back, in the middle of his two best friends; both lying on their backs as well. All had their hands folded behind their heads, legs crossed at the ankle to further their comfort. He felt Choji and Ino's eyes on him, though it didn't take him long to guess it was due to the sigh.

"What's the over dramatic sigh for?" Ino turned her head to the left to look at one of her best friends. She knew she was over-exaggerating about it being dramatic, but she didn't care. She watched as Shikamaru slowly turned his head to look at her. Their eyes met as they stared at each other a moment.

"I was thinking. It's something I do quite frequently." Shikamaru's lips pulled ever-so-slightly at the corner, showing a small smirk on his features. Ino knew Shikamaru wasn't being a smart-ass. He was just answering her question the way that he felt he wanted to at that moment. Though he was smart, when he was in relax mode, he didn't put much effort into anything.

"Psh. Yeah right. Thinking about how you wanted to be a cloud again?" She laughed, sticking her tongue out, teasing him. She could hear Choji chuckle from the other side of Shikamaru.

"That isn't what I was thinking about." Shikamaru turned his head as he spoke, looking back to the sky. He felt both of his friends eyes on him again. He watched as a few clouds moved past him in the sky, moving at a faster than normal speed due to the nice breeze that day.

"Thinking about what you saw in them? Thinking about Temariii?" Ino's voice grew high pitched in a sing-song tone as she continued to tease the Nara. Before Shikamaru could respond to her statement, Choji interjected to stop any further teasing if he could.

"Leave him alone Ino. It doesn't matter what he was thinking about. I'm sure a lot goes through that mind of his." Ino could tell that Choji was smiling to Shikamaru. A scoff escaped her as she sat up, looking over to both Choji and Shikamaru.

"You're giving him too much credit. He isn't doing a mission. He isn't preparing for anything. Not much is going through his mind. But I wouldn't put it past him if he were thinking about her." She laughed, reaching over with her left hand to lightly poke at Shikamaru's side.

"I mean, come on Choji, you've seen how he is around her." Ino continued to speak, lightly shaking Shikamaru's side a few times before removing her hand. She giggled at her best friend as she watched the Nara continue to look up at the sky, but this time with a clenched jaw. She was clearly annoying him, at least some what. She was accomplishing her goal. She loved to tease her friends, mostly in a nice way of course.

"I'm not going to lie Shikamaru. I've thought the same thing myself." Choji spoke as he sat up. Reaching into a small pouch on his side, he pulled out a bag of chips. Opening the bag, he ate a few as he waited for his best friend to respond.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing to show a bit of frustration at his friends. He wasn't really mad; though not surprised that they had come to that conclusion. Being the only one still laying down, he decided to sit up as well. He opened his eyes, glancing at both of his friends before looking at an ant moving through the grass below him.

"Can you two just drop the topic of Temari?" He didn't look at either as he waited for an answer. Ino's voice entered his ears seconds later.

"Come on Shika! Tell us if you like her!" Shikamaru shook his head as Ino spoke, not wanting to respond to her statement in the least. It really wasn't any of her business if he didn't want to tell her. He wouldn't mind speaking to Choji about it; at least he knew that Choji could keep his mouth shut about his feelings towards the other blonde. He wasn't sure why he hadn't told Choji of his feelings for Temari or the blonde sitting next to him. It had been a long conflicting problem for himself who he had stronger feelings for.

"Just because you don't mind letting everyone know who you do or do not have feelings for, doesn't mean I am okay with it." He looked over to Ino with a look that showed he was serious, but also showed he was still in a relaxed mood. Shikamaru and Choji weren't surprised to see Ino's jaw drop, mad about the statement he just made.

"It's not like I'm an open book Shikamaru. The only person people know that I have liked or do like is Sasuke. I'm not going to tell people every person I've had an interest in." She glared at the Nara, then looked to Choji as a warning to stay out of the conversation.

Choji raised his hands in a surrender, turning back to his chips to snack as he continued to listen to their conversation. He wasn't sure why the topic even came up. Ino never showed an interest in knowing who Shikamaru or Choji ever had an interest in. Choji couldn't help but wonder what was making Ino so persistent in finding out if Shikamaru did have feelings for the blonde from Suna. Part of him felt as though he really shouldn't be listening to this conversation.

"And I'm not going to tell you, or anyone for that matter, who or who I don't have feelings for. Can you drop the topic Ino? This is troublesome." Shikamaru complained to Ino before looking back down to the grass to find the ant he had been watching before.

"I don't get what the big deal is. If we are all best friends, this shouldn't be a touchy topic or something we don't talk about. This is one of the things we're _supposed _to talk about." Ino's eyes were staring intently into Shikamaru's, trying to get the genius to give into the conversation.

"We don't have to tell each other something if we don't want to. Especially if it's something as unimportant as this." Shikamaru continued to defend his case, though he didn't see the point in it.

"Tell us!" Ino whined in an irritated tone as she moved close to the Nara to look more intently into his eyes. She was yelling at him with that look of hers.

"Secrets, secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone!" Ino continued like a child trying to figure something out, that was none of their business.

Choji didn't think either of the two would notice if he stood to leave, and didn't really mind if they noticed. He stood to his feet, though wanting to hear the rest of the conversation. If something were to happen, he knew Shikamaru would eventually tell him. Giving them no time to say something before he was able to leave, Choji walked away, deciding to head to Ichiraku to see if Naruto was there. It was always nice to have a bowl of ramen with the blonde.

Shikamaru looked to his right to see Choji walking away. He didn't even give him time to say he would join him wherever he was going. Shikamaru made a mental note to say something to Choji about that later. The situation was sure to rise again. Lifting his hand to his nose, Shikamaru pinched the middle of his nose in annoyance before letting out a sigh to look at Ino again.

"Why do you want to know so bad? You never care about my feelings towards anyone, no matter what kind of feelings they are. All you care to talk about to me is how _you _feel about stuff, or Sasuke." Shikamaru watched as Ino leaned closer as he spoke, perhaps to answer obnoxiously or angrily. Ino was good for that sometimes. It didn't go unnoticed that Ino's body was less than six inches away from him.

"I'm not so conceited that I don't care about what you think about stuff Shikamaru." She snapped at him, leaning even closer due to anger. A glare and pout clear on her features.

"I want to know who my best friend likes. I already know who Choji likes. He and I have had the conversation before. I don't get what the big deal is to tell me. There's no reason for it to be a big secret." Ino turned her whole body to face him after she was done speaking, crossing her legs. Her right knee touching his thigh, her left calf touching his lower back. She could have sworn she felt him tense, though decided to pay closer attention to his facial expression.

"Troublesome..." He mumbled to himself before turning his head to look at Ino. He was surprised she had known that Choji liked her, though she could be lying since she hadn't said who. After thinking it over a moment, Shikamaru decided not to argue with her and to tell her what she wanted to know. It's not like she was going to find out any feelings he had for her.

"Yeah, I like Temari." Shikamaru stated bluntly. Though before she could respond, he decided to ask her a question that she would now have to answer.

"Who do you like other than Sasuke? You've never made it obvious in the least bit that you've had your eyes on someone other than him." Ino was more than pissed at Shikamaru's' tone as he spoke. He was mocking her, at least that is what she gathered from it. Who did Shikamaru think he was trying to figure out something so secretive from her? Though she only thought that because of the person it was.

"I'm not telling you that. I asked about a specific person." She turned her head abruptly away from him, her ponytail hitting the back of his head. Ino didn't care as she tried to hide the small blush forming on her face. She was disappointed in herself when she had realized she was attracted to one of her best friends; but when she saw Shikamaru's grown and muscular body one day many months ago (when he had his shirt off) when they were training (on a hot day), she couldn't help it that she had grown drawn to him from that moment on. And it wasn't just that, she could actually trust the Nara. She also knew Shikamaru wouldn't leave and want to destroy the village, like someone else she knew.

"Come on Ino. 'Secrets, secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone.'" He quoted the earlier saying Ino had spoken, taunting her. He wasn't shocked to see Ino's face scrunched up in frustration, something he wouldn't admit was cute. But he was surprised at the blonde's emotionally compulsive reaction.

She stood abruptly, her chest close to his face as she rose to her feet directly next to him. He couldn't stop the light blush that covered his cheeks as he looked up at her. Shikamaru continued to watch as she turned on her heels immediately to walk away. He surprised himself when his hand shot from the ground out to grab Ino's wrist.

"What?" She snapped, turning her head to look down at him angrily. Ino didn't really want to listen to him since he was trying to push a topic that shouldn't be pushed. She knew he was doing it to be an ass. It didn't matter to her that she had been doing the same earlier.

"I was being a smart-ass." Shikamaru forced himself to hold in the 'troublesome' he wanted to say after a few seconds of silence. He decided on just looking at the blonde, asking her to stay with his eyes. His fingers gently followed her wrist to the palm of her hand, wrapping his fingers around her hand, holding it; just before giving it a light tug for her to sit.

"I know you were being a smart-ass about it." Ino didn't pull her hand away as she spoke. She turned completely around to face him. Seeing the look on his face caused her to frown, though not from anger. Not thinking before she moved, she sat down on the ground next to Shikamaru, her shins and knees against the ground, her calves under her bottom. Her knees directly against Shikamaru's right thigh.

"I just wanted to know something about you, like you wanted to know something about me." He started to explain himself. Without stopping, he continued to speak.

"I never made it obvious I had feelings for her but you were somehow able to tell. Y-" Before Shikamaru could finish what he was trying to say, he was cut off by a short laugh then Ino's voice.

"You made it more obvious than you think. Everyone thinks you two like each other." She shook her head, not believing that he really thought it wasn't clear to many people how they felt.

"People will always think things Ino. That doesn't mean that they are right. Even if they were in this case." Shikamaru looked to the blonde, knowing she knew that. He wondered what else people had to say about his 'romantic' life.

"A lot of things people say in this village are right, though I will admit some of it is wrong. But we all know that we weren't wrong on that. Even Choji guessed." Ino nodded, confirming what she said.

"Why are we still talking about my feelings for her? I just want to know who you have your eyes set on other than Sasuke. He's the only guy you talk about." Shikamaru lightly traced his thumb over Ino's hand, forgetting he had been holding it. It seemed that Ino had forgotten as well due to the fact that she had a tint of pink to her cheeks.

Ino looked at Shikamaru for a moment, deciding what she should say next. Biting her lip nervously for a quick second, something she rarely did anymore, she made up her mind how to respond to her best friend. She leaned in, her lips meeting Shikamaru's in a tender kiss.

She wasn't sure what had gone through her mind to decide such a thing, but she had a feeling it had to do with Shikamaru holding her hand and looking at her the way he was. He was much more attractive in Ino's eyes than she would ever be willing to admit.

She felt his other hand lay against her cheek, stroking it lightly with his thumb. This caused Ino to smile into the kiss, making Shikamaru smile as well. In that moment they deepened the kiss, moving their tongues against the other's in a delicate dance. It had seemed like second nature; though the sensation was new to the two of them.

Sure both had kissed at least one person before, but it was nothing like the two were experiencing with each other. As soon as it had begun, it seemed that the kiss had ended. Shikamaru left his hand against Ino's cheek, the other still holding her hand. Ino was smiling, a light pink covering her cheeks. Shikamaru could feel his face had grown hotter though didn't mind as the two of them leaned their foreheads against each other's; this made Shikamaru drop his hand from Ino's cheek.

"So I was the other person?" Shikamaru broke the comfortable silence, a smile still on his face. Though it didn't go past Ino that there was a smirk hidden in that smile of his.

"You? Asking such an obvious question? I think you're running a fever. You do feel hot to the touch." Ino left her forehead against Shikamaru's until she had finished speaking. When she was done, she sat up, though sad at the small distance between her and Shikamaru. She saw the blush on his cheeks go from a light pink to a much darker shade, visible across his cheeks and nose.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru smirked to Ino, enjoying the company he knew so well. Seeing that the sun was a decent way past the top of the sky, he was ready for some lunch as he stood to his feet. He helped the blonde to her feet, lacing their fingers together to hold her hand a more intimate way. Shikamaru was a little surprised to hear her giggle in response, so he looked to her questioningly.

"So what about Temari?" She asked rather seriously, though her tone showing amusement. She couldn't help but laugh at Shikamaru's response.

"What about her?" He answered with a shrug and a smirk.

**A/N: Well I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, but overall, I like it. I hope the InoShika fans who have read this, enjoyed the story as well!**


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